22/01/2013 BBC World News

Hello. You are with BBC World News. Our top stories: Voting is under

way in Israel's general election. What impact will the results have

on any Palestinian peace deal? Canada asks for prove that its

nationals were among the Islamists involved in the Algeria hostage

crisis. Prince Harry talks about life on

the front line after his tour of duty in Afghanistan.

And happy anniversary - how the French and the German's mark 50

years since their countries signed Voting in Israel's general election

is well under way. Opinion calls suggest that Prime Minister

Binyamin Netanyahu's right-wing alliance will win. The Likud party

is under pressure. It has led him to approve the building of more

Jewish settlements and the West Bank. That is one reason a peace

deal with the Palestinians is now a more distant project. Let's get the

very latest from our correspondent who is at one of the polling

stations in Jerusalem. A day off for everybody there? A day off from

work for Israelis on election day. It has gone a bit quiet at the

moment. People are having lunch. But there was brisk voter turnout

this morning, far up on the figures are the same time of day at the

last election in 2009. Even the Israelis feel it is a foregone

conclusion as to who their next Prime Minister will be, they

believe it will remain Binyamin Netanyahu, they feel the issues are

very important. The economy, security and the future of the

Palestinian peace deal, perhaps the two state solution between the

release -- the Israelis and Palestinians. Binyamin Netanyahu

would have to choose the party to join him in a coalition, choosing

where that would be a far right- wing coalition of whether it would

include parties in the central centre-left, and that will affect

the government's policies. One in five Israelis is an Arab Israeli.

How involved is that section of the population? Voter turnout their

traditionally is quite low. We don't have official figures of

turnout yet for the Arab citizens of Israel. But speaking to some

activists before the election, they were saying to me, we're extremely

frustrated. Some of us will go and vote anyway, but we feel that our

status in Israeli society is always one of a second-class citizen as

long as Israel continues to call itself a Jewish state. Many Arab

citizens of Israel fail they will never be treated with equality.

They are also despondent, they say, about the potential of a future

Palestinian state ever been created. The majority of Israelis are still

in favour of a peace deal, but nobody realistically we have spoken

to believe that any kind of deal is around the corner. Added is not

just the Arab citizens of Israel saying that, Palestinians are also

despondent. Many say it doesn't matter what the flavour of Israel's

next coalition is, they do not believe that Israel is willing to

make the compromises it will take to form a peace deal. Thank you

very much. We are going to be live in Jerusalem throughout the day,

bringing you full coverage as the Israeli election results emerge.

You can also see an Israeli election special on BBC World News

at 19.45 later. That will be here on BBC World News.

The Canadian Foreign Minister has asked for proof that Canadians were

among the Islamists involved in the hostage taking after Algerian gas

plant in the Sahara. He said his department was checking the claim

by the Algerian prime minister, but at least one of the hostage-takers

was Canadian. A video posted on the internet showed a veteran Islamist,

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, claiming responsibility in the name of Al-

Qaeda. The black banner of Al-Qaeda behind

him, this is Mokhtar Belmokhtar, claiming responsibility for what he

describes as the blessed a daring operation in Algeria. He says 40

men, locals and foreigners, from Muslim and Western countries,

carried out the raid. The existence of this video had been widely

reported, but it was only posted online Monday by a website called

Sahara media. It is dated 17th January, the day after the

militants stormed the plant, and well before the Algerian army ended

the stand-off. In the vast Sahara, Mokhtar Belmokhtar is known as a

hostage taker and cigarette smuggler. It is understood he

recently fell out with leaders of the Algerian base to Al-Qaeda. He

says he set up his own brigade to defend "our lands and honour

against the crusade of France", which is now fighting militants in

labouring Mali. He says he is prepared to negotiate with Western

nations and the Algerian government on the condition that the attacks

on Mali's Muslims end. It is from northern Mali that the Algerian

Government believes that the attackers crossed the border, and

that the raid had been two a month in the planning. Algeria's Prime

Minister says 37 foreigners from eight countries and one Algerian

worker were killed during the hostage crisis. Five are still

missing. He is third in line to the British

Ren, but he has been focusing on his army career in Afghanistan.

Prince Harry has revealed that he fired on and killed insurgents

while working as an Apache helicopter pilot. He is now on his

way back to the UK after completing a second tour of duty. A series of

interviews were recorded during his time there but can only be

broadcast now. Orrell correspondent Peter Hunt reports.

For a second time, the third in line to the throne has served in

Afghanistan. In 2008, he was pulled out prematurely when it became

known that a senior royal was near the front line. This time, there

was no news blackout, as it was felt that Prince Harry was in a

safer position. The Prince has provided cover and protection for

soldiers on the ground, and he has targeted and killed Taliban

fighters. Take a life to save a life, that is what we revolve

around. If there are people trying to do about stuffed our guys, we

will take them out of the game. captain Wales, he is in his element.

He acknowledges there are three selves. In the army, one of the

royals, and a party Prince who last August was photographed naked in a

Las Vegas party. I let myself down and other people. But at the end of

the day, I was in a private area. It was a classic example of me

being too much of me and are not enough of the Prince. It is as a

soldier that is most content. It is easy to forget who I am one I N in

the army, he says. I get on with the lads and enjoy my job. It is as

simple as that. A British woman has been sentenced to death in

Indonesia for drug smuggling. A court in Bali has found Lindsay

Sandiford guilty of importing nearly five kilograms of cocaine in

a suitcase on a flight from Thailand. The prosecution had

called for a 15 year sentence, but the judges said there were no

mitigating circumstances. Her lawyers say they will appeal.

It was a day when hundreds of thousands lined the National mile

in Washington. President Obama has launched his second term of office

with an inaugural speech promising the dawn of an economic recovery

and the end of a decade of war. He said Americans should seize the

moment and embrace liberal causes like immigration, reform gay rights

and the fight against climate On Pennsylvania Avenue, the

marching bands of the dancers and the salutes stretched on into the

chilly evening. He stayed until the very end of the parade. The first

lady seemed to enjoy it. This boisterous, be a shattering ritual

But as always, a hot inauguration day ticket was across town at the

And, halfway through the evening, they took the floor. He in white

tie, she in a halter top down of deep red. And once again, they made

it all looks so easy. And as Barack Obama's supporters

celebrate tonight, they know that the legacy is only half written,

and the political battles to come over taxation, immigration, gun-

control and perhaps climate change, But his supporters know, too, that

his presidency was no fluke. The inauguration is over, and Barack

Obama has been sworn in for a Stay with us. We have plenty more

coming up here on BBC World News, including French and Mali troops

gaining control of two towns from In Mexico's drug war, the

authorities are celebrating victory over the country's biggest gang. 14

members as a cartel were arrested. But many people in rural areas are

willing to take the fight into their own hands.

If members a Mexico's much feared drug gang normally work in the

shadows, but these 14 face the full glare of the media spotlight.

Police say they seized these drugs and weapons, key equipment for

members of a gang that has become the largest in Mexico, making its

money by trafficking drugs and carrying out brutal assassinations

and kidnappings. It is estimated that more than 60,000 people have

been killed in drug-related violence since a Government

crackdown started into 1006, and the authorities are keen to parade

But away from the big cities, some Mexicans have taken matters into

their own hands. In south-west Mexico, the estate is one of the

worst affected by drug violence. These men are not members of the

police or the army, but a new vigilante group.

If TRANSLATION: We are just being good citizens, keeping our own

people safe, because our Government, particularly the municipal and

state police, have not been able to do what we are voluntarily doing

here. As well as patrolling the towns,

the group's is in -- the groups inspect the ideas they have local

people passing through. They are self-styled protectors. This woman

says they are her heroes. But some fear the presence of vigilantes

could lead to more violence and human rights abuses. The

authorities have tried to check the conditions at a makeshift prison

where vigilantes are holding more than 40 people prisoner. But these

villagers say they will take care of the suspect's themselves.

TRANSLATION: We are tired of so much crime. The drug gangs have

killed so many people, but the soldiers are so far away. The new

vigilante squads are part of a growing trend in Mexico, a sign of

people's desperation to defend themselves from the violence that

has gripped many parts of the You are watching BBC World News.

Our top story: Polling stations are open across Israel for the general

We stay with that story, because many pollsters suggest the right

one alliance led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will win the

vote. Speaking from the other end of the political spectrum, a

Palestinian Israeli activist who leads the Workers' Party says she

hopes the election were held unites society.

It is a Jewish and Arab party. Our suggestion to the Arabs and the

Jews in Israel is to connect, combine together, in order to have

the same struggle for peace, equality and social justice. We see

that more than 50% of the Arab population don't want to go to vote,

and 50% of the Jewish also don't want to go to vote because they

don't have any confidence in their leaders. Because of that, we are

suggesting that we could be an alternative that seeks a change, a

social and political deep change for the people, and now we can feel

that people are looking forward to support us, and we can feel it that

there will be a change in Israel today. So you feel that your

message is working. I just wanted to ask if, as expected, the next

government it is more right wing, how do you propose to talk to that

It is clear that the right wing will go stronger, and because of

that the only reaction to this right-wing government has to be

combined and connected to the workers on the ground, on the

social protest movement. There will be the right answer to the right

wing because the problem in Israel is that the Israeli left a doctored

the economy and the right-wing agenda. There is no partner for

peace and this is a really dangerous situation that we are in.

The Aran the Knesset for the Israeli Jewish nationalism and this

is what both Jews and Arabs need more than at any time. There is

issued support for people who asked to vote from the right wing, from

the Jewish sector, and from the Arab people. French and Malian

troops have recaptured two key towns from Islamist rebels in the

north of the country. They pushed the group away from the town of

Diabalay with a convoy of 30 armoured vehicles. Our

correspondent Andrew Harding is there and sent this report. We have

come with them to this town, controlled until this weekend by

Islamist militants. Some may still be in the area. The French quickly

begin to check nearby houses. The population seems relaxed now, and

relieved. They are keen to show us the wreckage of their week-long

ordeal. These are pick up trucks destroyed, he tells me, by French

helicopters. Two jihadists were killed here. We find several more

charred vehicles nearby. They were hit with precision, the French

helping to direct the air strikes. The Islamists chose this town for a

reason - this is it, the army garrison, packed with weapons and

not nearly as well guarded as you might expect. The rebels seized the

town in a day, more than 100 of them. The Islamists left now, the

airstrikes did their job, but before they left they had every

chance to loot this Arsenal giving them weapons for the warhead. Here

the battle is over, but Mali's hit and run insurgency may be just

beginning. The French insist they are keen to let the Malian army do

its share of the fighting here, but from what we have learned today it

is clear this army is part of the problem. This soldier has agreed to

show me why. He is based at the garrison. The Islamists came to his

home to look for him and trashed his belongings. He says some of the

rebels are foreign jihadists, but he knows that some of them are

former colleagues from his own army unit.

De you know the names of these people? Translation yes, they

defected last year when the Tuareg start of their rebellion. When they

came last week, they were Islamists. Outside another soldier confirmed

the story. Yes, many of our comrades became our enemies. Have

now we will hunt them down. Some of the men who attacked this town were

former members of the Malian army and that is a reminder of how many

of the problems in this country are home-grown. No simple solutions

hear them from Mali's complex, murky rebellion.

France and Germany are marking 50 years of friendship today, with the

French President, Francois Hollande, visiting the German Chancellor,

Angela Merkel, in Berlin. The Elysee Treaty was signed by Charles

de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer in 1963. It aimed to improve relations

between the two countries after the Second World War. I spoke to the

BBC's Steve Evans in Berlin and Christian Fraser in Paris. First to

Berlin and Steve Evans. This was a key moment in modern history.

Absolutely, Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle signing this

treaty exactly 50 years ago. I suppose it established the

Architecture to be overly pompous in my phraseology of the new Europe.

This was going to be the pillars on which the new Europe stud and that

is what they are marking today. In the building behind me there will

be a joint session of the two parliament, with extra chairs for

the 600 deputies in Paris. I have come back from that building,

whether it was champagne or the German version is not clear, but

they are celebrating. A relationship where Paris and Berlin

see the economy different league, with different policies, but both

sides feel this is the relationship that really matters. We saw that

famous hug between the leaders back then - at least two leaders on

those terms now? Win in the French papers today, you might feel the

fizz has gone out of the charm -- champagne. This is the picture of

Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle. If you read the statement

of the Commission President, you feel the symbolism, it has to be

set in the context of history, but in terms of concrete implementation

three of the main themes were defence, foreign policy, education

and youth. In terms of foreign policy you only need to look

recently at the Germany abstention on Libya to see that they don't see

eye-to-eye on foreign policy. In defence, you can point to the

aerospace and defence company EDS, and, education and youth there has

been exchange programmes for students, but in terms of foreign

language, French and German is the third language in the respective

countries after English and Spanish. It has not been an overwhelming

success, which brings us to have his perceived difficulty between

Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel. One success story of the treaty was

that it brought the German Chancellor and French President

together more regularly. If you look at the leader in 1989, they

spoke on average almost every 20 days so you can see how important

it was in the big events through history. Despite these difficulties,

since he came to power in May, Francois Hollande has met Angela

Merkel 14 times. 10 times at international summits, four times

from visits. I'm sure they speak on the phone. It is that relationship

that still drives Europe. The dream was peace and prosperity but the

current economic situation means an increasing number of people are

having to come to terms with years of austerity. As part of our new

series - Winter In Europe - our correspondent Matthew Price has

been to Germany where thousands of migrant workers from hard-hit

southern Europe have left behind their old lives in search of work,

hoping they can find a brighter future away from home. They flew

into the cold damp of the German winter. This is Europe's great

migration. Today, five more nurses, all of them have jobs lined up here

and all of them will have to learn German fast. Why have you come

here? Because I think that it is a good opportunity to start working

here. The is this a new life for you? Yes, a new life. All they have

brought from their old lives is squeezed into a suitcase. None of

them has a return ticket. How difficult was it to leave

Spain? In my case I have my girlfriend there, I left this

morning and it was hard for me. My parents and my grandmother is very

old and I don't know if I am going to see her at another time. This is

very hard. Every day more and more arrived from southern Europe, but

unlike previous waves of immigration across the Continent,

this one involves highly skilled and motivated individuals, simply

desperate for work. Germany is desperate for them. There is an

ageing population here and they want educated workers to come. But

for those who do, it is still back to school. These are Spanish

engineers would six hours a day of intensive German learning, and is

not just the young people. You need a lot of time, a lot of effort, and

it is really difficult to learn German. Difficult even when you

can't speak some. Samuel is an IT specialist. He lost his job because

of the Spanish crisis. Now he wakes every day at 4 o'clock to deliver

bread. This is not the life he imagined. TRANSLATION: After three

months if you have no job you start to run out of money. You have to

decide, go back to Spain or find any job. The air will be many more